Monopoly mistakes we've all been making

IT'S the family game that takes hours and usually ends in tears. And now a blogger has pointed out millions of us have been playing it the WRONG WAY.

David Gardner

Daily MailMay 30, 20132:45pm

Monopoly is the world-famous game on which many a player shined as a property tycoon and where luckless strugglers went to jail, but after a public vote one of Monopoly's tokens will never again pass go. The iron has been consigned to history, and a cat will take its place.Source:AFP

IF YOU'VE ever finished Monopoly before a big family row breaks out, you may be aware of the game's best kept secret - the rules

For it is claimed the reason why the popular board game takes so long to complete – and perhaps why arguments are likely to break out during play – is because no one bothers to read the instructions.

A little known but vital rule has gone viral on social networking site Twitter after a games blogger launched an internet campaign teaching others how to play the game properly.

Monopoly rules demand that when players land on a space, such as Park Lane, but do not choose to purchase the property, an auction must take place.

The idea is that a bidding war will prompt another player to buy the space, and so the game will speed up.

However, many players usually skip this stage in ignorance and restart play, meaning the Park Lane property will be available until someone lands on it again – which could be hours later. A testament to how long the game can take is the record for the longest Monopoly tournament which lasted 70 days.

Official rules from Hasbro, which makes the game, state: 'Whenever you land on an unowned property you may buy that property from the Bank at its printed price. You receive the Title Deed card showing ownership; place it face-up in front of you.

'If you do not wish to buy the property, the Banker sells it at auction to the highest bidder. Any player, including the one who declined the option to buy it at the printed price, may bid. Bidding may start at any price.'

Johnny Nexus, the editor of the London-based Near Miss blog which is running The Campaign For Real Monopoly, said playing by the rules makes the game more fun. He added: 'Firstly, it speeds up the game as it enables the quicker collection of a matched set of streets (and remember that it's only when players have collected sets, and can start building houses, that the game moves into its final phase).

'Secondly, it makes the game much more interesting by massively increasing the interaction between players.

'Thirdly, it makes the game much more skilful, since it is now more dependent on your ability to trick, bluff and manage the other players.' He said that the reason for the rule being overlooked is because nobody ever reads the rules. 'Monopoly is something you learn through word of mouth in childhood, like riding a bike or tying your shoelaces,' he said.

'Your mother – who never read the rules but was instead taught them by her father – taught you, and one day you will teach your children, again without reading the rules first. She passed on broken rules to you and you'll pass them on to your kids.'

Some 275 million Monopoly games have been sold worldwide since 1935, the year it first appeared in shops in the US.

Since then more than one billion people have played the game which has been translated into 43 different languages in 111 countries.

It would appear that auctioning is not the only rule that players dismiss at the expense of a speedier, livelier game.

Other little-known instructions state it is forbidden to build more than one hotel on a property space.

Players can only borrow money from mortgaging property. Getting loans from other players or the bank (apart from a mortgage) is not allowed.

And landing on the Free Parking space does not entitle the player to a cash reward.